Hubris
by Chiba.Kun
Summary: She searches. He steals. They wait.
1. Chapter 1

She can't find him.

She moves through the village, quickly, breathing just barely under control. She's calm on the outside, but only just: her mind is a flurry of anxiety, worries blazing about her head. Has he left? Did he abandon me? Or worse - Has he been hurt?

Will he be there?

She swallows thickly and speeds up, almost to a run now. Someone stops her, asks where she's going, if she's feeling all right, and she does her best to smile.

"The stables," she pants, "I want to see the horses."

She knows the man believes her, because he smiles sadly and nods. She always has liked the horses, so there's no reason for her not to be there - she tended them often in days long past. And she isn't lying; she is going to the stables, but not to care for the horses. She's searching, checking; she needs to know if the black mare is still where she had been yesterday.

She slows down as she hears the snorting of the animals, smells the strong scent of hay. In spite of herself she's soothed, and she walks, apprehension fading, ever closer to Agro's stall.

She arrives and her breath leaves her.

Agro isn't there.

* * *

><p>She walks through the village again, less frantically this time; a dull coldness has settled over her. She half-heartedly asks the few people still milling about if they had seen the horse or its rider, if the young hunter had passed through this part of the village recently. Every time she is answered the same: nobody had seen him, not since the previous day. Nobody had seen him since Mono herself.<p>

He had vanished. Disappeared entirely, leaving no trace of himself.

There is nothing left for her to do. Mono gathers herself, holding back tears, and begins a slow trek to the temple.

She must prepare for the sacrifice.

* * *

><p>She sits on the altar, dressed in white. The smell of incense burning around her makes her light-headed, but she is careful to stay focused. Her eyes run over each person kneeling before the altar, hoping to see him, her beloved, but knowing he will not be there. She is unsurprised when she does not see his bright red hair, his beautiful blue eyes, dulled and devastated, staring back at her. Again she holds back tears, closing her eyes against them. She must not show her fear, her sadness.<p>

Emon comes to her side. Her heart beats faster, harder - so loud she can't hear the words he's saying to the others, can't understand the prayers he's chanting. She can hear the response, a low rumble, but can't decipher what it is. It's nearly time.

The chanting ends and she opens her eyes. Lord Emon gently hands her a cup, its insides sloshing around as it moves from one set of hands to the other. He says something else, and nods at her. It's time. Solemnly, she takes one last sweet, shaking breath and clutches the goblet, raising her eyes to see the people she grew up with- the ones she is saving through her sacrifice - one last time.

And there he is.

He's standing at the open temple door, watching her. When she catches his eye she smiles, and lets out a small, tinkling laugh. She thanks the gods in her mind that he came after all, that he didn't abandon her. His lips and brows twitch. She can see the despair creeping into the careful stony expression he's mustered and she shakes her head. _Don't cry for me_, she thinks. _I'm happy. _Happy she can help protect the village. Happy she could see him one last time.

Happy he came to say goodbye.

She lifts the cup to her lips and drinks.


	2. Chapter 2

She lifts the cup to her lips and drinks.

His knees go weak and he clutches the doorframe harder to steady himself. The cup clangs to the ground and Wander is about to follow, but Mono is still alive and still smiling at him. She blinks, each one slower and slower, until she can no longer open here eyes, and she's being laid down on the altar. He has to bite down on his arm to keep himself from crying out, to keep his tears from spilling over.

He watches as the rising and falling of Mono's chest slows and eventually stops. Emon covers her with a woven blanket and Wander steps back on shaking legs.

It's finished. Mono is dead. There is nothing left for him here.

He waits until the chanting begins again and slips away unseen, unheard.

* * *

><p>He climbs atop his horse and rides, urging Agro into a gallop as fast as he can. The two of them race out of the village and don't stop for what seems to be hours, until they are far, far away, far enough that they won't be found.<p>

He knows nobody will be looking, anyway.

* * *

><p>He waits until the sun sets to return. In the dark, nobody will see him. But they will still hear him, if anyone remains awake, so he dismounts just outside the village, and enters it alone. He does not need to tie Agro up; she will not move until he returns and urges her away.<p>

Quietly, he sneaks to the temple. The candles are still lit, but there are no voices coming from inside. He's safe, for a time, but he has to move quickly.

The body is still there, covered in the woven blanket. He has no time to spare, no time to lift the sheet and gaze at his lover's face - she will be moved soon, prepared for the next morning's sky burial, the completion of the ritual - but longing overcomes him and he does. He steps as quietly as he can to the altar and lifts the corner of the blanket, drawing it back from her face. He feels his balance waver again, but he stands firm where he is. Mono looks peaceful, almost happy: there are still faint traces of her final smile on her lips. Tears threatening to fill his eyes, Wander slowly brushes a strand of hair behind his lover's ear and steps back. He must leave her now, but only temporarily: there is something in here that he needs. Something that they both need.

Setting the blanket back over his beloved, he turns and moves deeper into the temple. He makes his way through the back halls to a room few have ever seen, but all knew of. He remembers tales told around fires of forbidden wilds and magic and artefacts hidden away and sealed by holy magic, never to be touched by mortal man, and prays that the rumours are true.

* * *

><p>He finds it.<p>

The room is unguarded except by a stone door. Hastily, he pushes it open - just a crack, barely enough to see inside. The room is dark; the only source of light comes from the candles outside it. But this is all Wander needs: he can see, at the back of the room, a glint of metal on the wall, beckoning him with the silent promise of hope.

With redemption.

He swallows and slips inside. The sword is mounted on the wall, its sheath directly below. Delicately, reverently, he lifts the blade. The rush he feels does not come from the texture of the hilt under his fingers, nor from the magic he knows the sword is imbued with, but from the knowledge that now there is no turning back. He has taken the first step, and now all that's left is the path the theft has laid.

Mono will live. He will bring her back.


End file.
